


An Exercise in Mental Fortitude

by TemporaryDysphoria



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Tooth Rotting Fluff, Tumblr Prompt, meditation as a coping tool, there's implied polyamory but lets be real all my fics are implied polyamory at this stage, training as a trope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:00:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21581911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TemporaryDysphoria/pseuds/TemporaryDysphoria
Summary: The training. The whole reason they were sitting on the floor like idiots. Lupin jumps to his feet, realising too late that his left leg had fallen asleep. It’s only Goemon’s quick reflexes that stop him from falling back to the floor. Lupin grins at him, and slides an arm around his waist.“You know Goemon, if you wanted to hold me, all you had to do was ask.”
Relationships: Ishikawa Goemon XIII/Arsène Lupin III
Comments: 28
Kudos: 87





	An Exercise in Mental Fortitude

**Author's Note:**

> This was a fill for a prompt on tumblr. 
> 
> Prompt was: goelup - the world needs more goelup :') I always thought goemon including lupin in his training (essentially teaching lupin things and training him to be a better climber/runner/self defender etc lol) would make an interesting episode, it could go a lot of different ways - you don't have to use that though.
> 
> I did kind of stretch the definition of 'training', but I hope you still like the gratuitous GoeLup!

"You need to breathe Lupin."

Goemon's slow tenor voice is normally a very calming sound to Lupin's ears. Nowhere near as scratchy as Jigen's baritone, his clipped, modulated way of speaking usually had the ability to smooth out the constant racing in Lupin's mind on the odd occasion that it became too much to handle.

"That means you actually need to inhale and exhale."

Goemon is seated in front of him, legs folded - the corners of his mouth twitching up in amusement. Lupin sucks in a breath, the fresh air derailing his thought process.

Damn Goemon. Right again. He did need to breathe.

The city floats inside with every inhale he takes. The distinctive smell of bread from the bakery at the end of the street, the tangy sharp smell of fuel as vehicles trundle past down the road.

The fumes remind him of _something_. Something he can't quite place.

Fumes. Fuel. He'd been using fuel when he and Jigen had been tinkering in their mountain safe house last week. They needed more, because the generator had kicked the bucket. Jigen had to empty the fuel tank entirely to fix it. There was something else though. Jigen needed something else…

Fittings. A new fitting for the generator pump because when he'd pulled it apart, he'd found the old one was cracked and had roused Lupin until he said he'd buy one. It was too old, he said. Wouldn't last another winter.

Not that they planned to use the safehouse in the near future, but it was better to be safe than sorry. They'd packed up and brought everything down with them - hadn't they?

"Lupin?"

He's slammed back to the present. That's right. He's meditating with Goemon. Or trying to anyway. So far, it’s been twenty minutes of Goemon nudging him with that tiny amused smile etched into his features.

"How do you sit like this for hours? Lupin can hear the nasally whine in his own voice and he wrinkles his nose at it. "Don't you get bored?"

Goemon just continues to sit perfectly still, observing him with a mildly interested expression. He shrugs, the movement slow and measured, much like everything else the samurai does.

"Reflection is an important part of training, as is mental relaxation. Meditation covers both."

Lupin isn't sold. Though, to be fair, he should have expected something along these lines when he'd first approached Goemon for assistance with hand to hand self-defence training. Goemon didn't do anything by halves; hence why they were here, meditating, instead of outside punching.

"Alright," he says with a bitten back sigh. He really just wanted some tips on getting out of a stranglehold. Pops was getting frustratingly creative.

Goemon tilts his head to the side, "You are only a beginner, it is natural to feel frustrated with the process."

"I know," he snaps, and immediately feels bad. Goemon is doing what he asked of him.

"I'm sorry."

Goemon nods, "It is fine. I understand you are frustrated. Do you want to try again?"

"Yes"

He settles back into a more comfortable position, and squeezes his eyes shut. Perhaps if he wills it enough, his mind will quiet enough to get through ten minutes of this - then they can move on to more physical training. He tries focus on the steady flow of Goemon's voice - telling him to close his eyes, to relax his shoulders…

"Inhale. Exhale. Become aware of your breath as it moves around your body"

Lupin was aware alright. He was too aware. He was aware of how his ankles were digging into his thighs. He was aware of the hard floor beneath him. He was aware of the tension in his shoulders, that bled down his arms into his fingers.

When Pops had almost caught him last time, his arms had been trapped above his head, stretching the shoulder joint to the very limit of its ability. It still wasn’t quite right after that. His good shoulder too. Now he had two bad shoulders, like Jigen. Goemon wouldn't have bad shoulders, he was too disciplined. He would just tell his shoulders to stop being a disgrace to his training and they'd probably listen.

"Empty your mind."

He couldn't do it. With a grunt Lupin pushes himself up, Goemon looks up at him from the floor with a blank expression. He's disappointed him. It stings a little.

"I can't do it, Goemon. It is _impossible_ for me to empty my mind. There's too much going on in there. We'll have to train another day."

He goes to step past the samurai out of the room. Goemon grabs his hand on the way past, stopping him in his tracks. When he meets the samurai's gaze, Goemon has an eyebrow raised. He rubs a thumb gently across the back of Lupin's hand, the innocent gesture making the thief feel even more embarrassed about his outburst.

"Would it be better," Goemon cocks his head to the side thoughtfully, "if I gave you something to focus entirely on, rather than instructing you to empty your mind? A meditation achieved by concentration is still meditation."

"I don't know -"

"One more try?"

The question is posed innocently. The subtle hand squeeze is less so. Not that it matters. Lupin had resigned himself to sitting back down the minute Goemon had grabbed his hand.

He resumes his position, finding a more comfortable place for his ankles. Goemon sits up on his knees and shuffles forward, so he's sitting directly in front of Lupin. Their knees almost touch. Goemon holds out his hands.

Lupin regards them warily, "what's this for then?"

"I doubt any part of your own body will maintain your focus any length of time. So, we will introduce an outside source."

The opportunity is too good to pass up.

"I can think of _one_ part…" he wiggles his eyebrows for good measure.

Goemon huffs and rolls his eyes, " _that_ part of you is not conducive to calm meditation. Put your hands in mine."

He must hesitate a moment too long, because Goemon rolls his eyes again.

“If it does not work, we will stop and move on. I only ask because your further training will benefit from mental fortitude.”

Goemon’s fingers are warm, and his hands lie heavy on top of Lupin’s where they rest against his knees. When Goemon murmurs that its time to close his eyes, Lupin is almost hopeful that this might work. Almost.

“Focus on my hands – “

Goemon’s hands look soft, but up close they are covered in tiny callouses. It’s an interesting juxtaposition that Lupin appreciates. Fujiko looks soft and is soft. Jigen looks rough and is rough. Not Goemon though. Goemon is -

“Focus on each of my fingers as they move.”

Goemon taps his fingers, at first in a seemingly random motion. It’s enough to draw Lupin’s attention in, enough to quell his drifting thoughts and force him to focus.

_Tap tap tap._ Middle finger, ring finger, pinkie finger.

_Tap tap._ Two thumbs.

“Remember to breathe,” Goemon murmurs and Lupin exhales thinly – he hadn’t realised he’d been holding it.

Just when Lupin thinks he’s got the rhythm figured out, Goemon changes it. Adds another tap, removes one, switches the fingers.

“You have tension in your shoulders. Breathe it out.”

At the start, Lupin was counting the taps. He’s since given up. Again, Goemon is frustratingly correct as he lets his shoulders sag down. There’s nothing but silence, the small movements of Goemon’s fingers, and the occasional reminder to breathe, until finally Goemon hums and says softly that he can open his eyes again.

He does so with a start and winces at the sudden light. Goemon chuckles at his pained expression. He grimaces in the uncaring samurai’s direction.

“You have done well,” Goemon says, a hint of a smile playing at the edge of his lips.

Lupin doesn’t feel particularly different. While it was a welcome relief to not think for a short while, he can feel the return of his thoughts, as though they are jumping off a cliff and landing on him. The tension _is_ gone from his shoulder though, so that was something.

“How long?” he asks. It felt like half an hour at least, maybe longer.

Goemon’s reply is deadpan. “Five minutes.”

“What? “

It felt like so much longer. Surely the samurai was kidding.

“You’re joking?”

“I do not jest, Lupin.”

“Bullshit.”

Goemon looks like he’s about to laugh. Lupin narrows his eyes, as if glaring will somehow break the samurai’s shell. Goemon squeezes his hands. They were still lying heavy over his own, Lupin pulls his hands away and folds them over his chest.

“Do not despair,” Goemon chuckles, “Truthfully I did not expect you to make it past two. You have done very well.”

Lupin makes a ‘hrrmph’ noise in his throat and turns his nose up at the samurai. He doesn’t mean it, but the theatrics are fun. He does _love_ theatrics. He suspects Goemon does as well, he wouldn’t put up with him if he didn’t like them a little bit.

He chances a quick glance at his samurai out of the corner of his eye. Goemon has his hands folded over his lap once more, and he’s regarding Lupin with a fond expression. One that Lupin doesn’t see very often on his taciturn face. He drops the theatrics, and his arms. Goemon’s face scrunches into a quizzical look.

“Thank you,” he says honestly, “I do think it helped.”

It had a little. It wasn’t exactly what he had asked for, but it was what he had needed. A much-needed reprieve from his scrambling thought process. Goemon hums noncommittally and inclines his head in a half-hearted bow.

“You are welcome. Now, I believe there was to be more to this training session?”

The training. The whole reason they were sitting on the floor like idiots. Lupin jumps to his feet, realising too late that his left leg had fallen asleep. It’s only Goemon’s quick reflexes that stop him from falling back to the floor. Lupin grins at him, and slides an arm around his waist.

“You know Goemon, if you wanted to hold me, all you had to do was ask.”

The blatant flirting colours the samurai’s cheeks with a dusty pink flush.

“Next time, I will drop you.”

Lupin pouts, and decides to test the waters with quick kiss to the cheek. Goemon tended to go through stages, and it was often hard to pick whether he would accept affection or not. Jigen had a better eye for it than Lupin did.

Goemon flushes further down his neck, but he doesn’t outright pull away. Lupin figures he’s in with a good shot.

“Goemon,” he says seriously – negotiating voice on now.

Goemon cocks an eyebrow at the change in tone, but doesn’t say anything.

“I would like to kiss you, then I would like to go outside and punch you.”

The tiniest movement in his shoulders gives away his amusement at the blunt statement. Well, that, and the huff of air that he exhales quickly out of his nose in lieu of an actual laugh.

“Is that so?”

Lupin nods vigorously, “Yes.”

“Very well then.”

Goemon makes a small noise in the back of his throat when Lupin captures his mouth with his own. It’s not a long kiss by any stretch of the imagination. Barely long enough for mouths to open, for tongues to meet and tangle. When he leans back Goemon has the fond expression on his face once more.

“Are you ready to punch me now?”

Lupin grins and shakes his leg, making sure the feeling is definitely back before he goes to put weight on it again.

“Always, let’s go!”


End file.
